Sean Green had plenty of problems on the mound in the top of the seventh inning last night. But Jerry Manuel seemed more bothered by his team’s performance at the plate in the last three innings.
Green entered in the seventh to protect a one-run lead against the Marlins, and he was atrocious, flushing any hope of victory by serving up four runs, including a game-changing three-run homer to Jorge Cantu. But in what became a frustrating 7-4 loss at Citi Field, Manuel was disturbed that in the Mets’ hitter did zilch over the final frames.
“What is somewhat discouraging is we didn’t put a run back on the board after that,” Manuel said. “The bullpen, every now and then, you’re going to get a game where they give up some runs. What you have to do as an offensive club you have to understand what it takes to get back in the game. Three runs shouldn’t be something that’s insurmountable to a good offensive club.
“We have to really address that. It appears as though when we get in that position it seems like it’s an insurmountable lead.”
After Green’s meltdown, the Mets wilted. They went 1-2-3 in the seventh, managed just a two-out single in the eighth, then went 1-2-3 again in the ninth.
None of this excuses Green’s performance. If he does his job, the Mets have a shot at the win. But the Mets didn’t show much when they were trailing. Is there a concern that they quit or got dejected? Manuel didn’t think so, but he does believe the hitters get anxious.
“I don’t think we have probably done as good a job as we could with that. I think it’s more the approach,” Manuel said. “I don’t think there’s one guy that quits. I think our anxiety takes over at that time and gets in the way of us performing. And I think we have to control that a little bit more.”
The Mets, bidding to take the first two games of this series and hand the first-place Marlins their eighth straight loss, carried a 4-3 lead into the seventh. They were winning a game in which their fifth starter (Livan Hernandez) had opposed the Marlins’ No. 1 starter (Ricky Nolasco).
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But Green walked Alfredo Amezaga, and one out later, Emilio Bonifacio’s single put men on first and third. Cameron Maybin’s groundout tied it up before Green walked John Baker and served up Cantu’s second homer of the night.
Green is becoming more and more unreliable. For the season, he’s surrendered 11 runs in 11 2/3 innings. Worse, he’s given up 17 hits and six walks. He’s putting nearly two men on base per inning.
“I’m just not making good pitches,” he said.
The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the first on Gary Sheffield’s two-run triple to center. They pushed it to 3-0 the next inning on Alex Cora’s RBI single. But Cantu’s two-run homer in the fourth trimmed it to 3-2, and after David Wright’s fifth-inning RBI single made it 4-2, Florida cut it to 4-3 in the sixth. Then Green had his problems, and the Mets didn’t respond.
“[Manuel] wants us to never say die and I don’t think we did that,” Wright said. “But we need to find a way to answer back.”